DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- ACCESS TO GOD

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- ACCESS TO GOD

"And He (Jesus) came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father." (Ephesians 2:17-18)

The message that Christ preached is that even though we have been separated from God by our sin, we can have relationship with God the Father through faith in Him. That is why He came. He came to seek and to save those who are lost – who are separated from the Father (Luke 19:10). He said He was the way, the truth and the life, and that no one could come to the Father except through faith in Him (John 14:6). God is not willing that anyone should perish and be eternally separated from God, but that all would come to repentance (II Peter 3:9).

He came first to the Jews because they were the people that had received the promises and covenant from God. His message was to those who were near – the Jews, but also to those were afar off – the Gentiles who did not have God's revelation.

In the early church, there was still this division between Jews and Gentiles. Paul said that Jesus Himself is the one who brings peace between these two factions. He has broken down the middle wall of separation (vs. 14). He made one new man from the two, reconciling them both to God through the cross (vs. 16). He is growing the church as a holy temple, and Jews and Gentiles are being built together as a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (vss. 21-22).

God is not a respecter of persons. Both Jews and Gentiles stand on level ground at the cross. In our focus verse, Paul stressed that we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

The word access is important. Access is the freedom to approach someone with authority and power. In the political realm, people pay huge sums of money to gain access to those who are in power. In the spiritual, Jesus secured the privilege of coming into the presence of the Great Sovereign, the Lord God. Through Christ, we have access to God. As Hebrews says, we can come boldly to the Throne of grace to find help in the time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

We cannot buy that access. Jesus provides the only way to come to the Father. I'm so glad I have access to Him by the Holy Spirit through prayer.

Love, Dad